


Three Days. Two Nights.

by kethni



Category: Veep
Genre: Adultery, Angst, Cheating, Ensemble Cast, F/M, Talking, season 5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-27
Updated: 2016-06-27
Packaged: 2018-07-18 15:57:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7321498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kethni/pseuds/kethni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>‘Try being happy in love when every moment is painful and wrong. When you are miserable to be apart from them and guilty to be with them.’<br/>Catherine hugged herself. ‘I’d never do that to Marjorie.’<br/>‘Then you don’t love her,’ Sue said. ‘Because you would do anything to be near her. However wrong. However forbidden.’<br/>She left Catherine standing in the snow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three Days. Two Nights.

Day One – December Nineteenth

 

Sue’s boots sank into the deep snow. She had been warned and had dressed appropriately for the temperature. She had not been warned about the bleakness. The trees were stark and bare. The sun was smothered behind cloud banks. The sounds of the city had dropped away leaving nothing but the sound of their breathing and the occasional call of a distant bird.

‘I can’t believe this is how I’m spending my Christmas,’ Mike grumbled.

‘Beautiful,’ Kent said quietly.

Ben clapped his be-gloved hands together. ‘Just because nobody loves you, doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t have spouses… and kids and maybe extended family just waiting to open presents, get drunk, and argue over board games.’

Kent rolled his eyes. ‘You avoid being home at Christmas whenever humanly possible.’

Ben scowled as he kicked through the snow. ‘If I’m in DC I get to go home and get drunk. I’m not struck in a confined space with you.’

‘Gentlemen.’ Sue opened the door to the cabin. ‘Shall we?’

***

Sue took the master bedroom. Ben protested.

‘Age before beauty,’ he said. ‘You ever heard that?’

‘I have. I have also heard of pearls before swine and pride before a fall,’ Sue said.

Ben put his hands on his hips. ‘What?’

‘I am having the room,’ Sue said.

‘Why?’

‘It is the only one with a lock.’

She was mildly surprised to see that Mike got it first. Ben and Kent appeared to realise at much the same time. Ben reddened. Kent winced.

‘What does that mean?’ Ben asked.

‘You know precisely what it means.’ Sue shut the door and locked it, but she stayed by the door and listened.

‘That’s ridiculous,’ Ben said. ‘She’s the youngest. I’d give you odds she’s the healthiest.’

Kent touched his shoulder, lightly. ‘The room next to the library –.’

‘She knows us,’ Ben said, his shoulders slumping.

Mike shuffled his feet. ‘Wendy told me that when women are attacked, it’s mostly by men that they know.’

Kent rubbed his forehead. ‘When they’re murdered the perpetrators are most often a current or former partner.’

Ben shuffled towards the library. ‘Jesus, doesn’t it bother you to be lumped in with those dicks?’

‘Certainly,’ Kent said. ‘However, while only a tiny minority of sharks will attack humans, should someone scream “shark” while I was in the water, I would exit with alacrity.’

‘That seems insulting to sharks,’ Mike muttered.

***

Sue rubbed her forearms.

‘The heating is on high,’ Mike said.

‘I’ll get some wood for the fire,’ Kent said, striding towards the coat rack.

‘You get that she’s married, now?’ Ben asked. ‘You don’t have to try to impress her anymore.’

‘I’m not.’ Kent pulled on his coat and marched outside.

Mike stood at the window and watched Kent stride into the trees. ‘We are so lucky to live now.’

‘What?’ Ben asked.

‘If I had to chop down wood, kill wild animals, and ride horses I’d be dead in a week. Max.’

Ben rolled his eyes as he made coffee. ‘People do that shit now: farmers and ranchers and the like.’

‘And politicians pretending to be “normal” constituents,’ Sue said.

‘Oh God,’ Mike said. ‘They’re not gonna have Jonah hunting, are they?’

Ben shuddered. ‘Christ, can you imagine? He’ll probably bag Dan, and not in the fun, alternative sexuality way.’

***

Kent could hear someone fighting through the snow. He had a small stack of wood but he hadn’t quite reached his self-appointed quota.

Nonetheless, discretion was the better part of valour. He gathered his wood and axe, then realised he was unsure which direction the sound was coming from.

‘Mr Davison?’

‘Agent Palmiotti?’ Kent turned to face her. ‘You’re holding that axe in a considerably threatening manner.’

She lowered the axe. ‘You look different.’

‘Because of my attire.’

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Also, you’re not running around while Mr Cafferty screams.’

Kent thought about it. ‘There has been an uncommon amount of running around recently.’

‘Also screaming.’

Kent shook his head. ‘That’s quite typical for Ben.’

They looked at each other for several seconds.

‘You also appear quite different,’ Kent said.

‘This is fun Marjorie,’ she said.

‘Ah.’ He kicked snow from his boot. ‘Are you out here alone?’

Marjorie scanned the horizon. ‘You’re here.’

Kent narrowed his eyes. ‘You didn’t know that.’

‘No.’

‘POTUS asked Catherine and I to fetch firewood,’ Marjorie said. ‘Her delicate hands shouldn’t handle heavy tools.’

‘I can’t tell you why I’m here,’ he said. ‘It’s classified.’

‘Understood,’ Marjorie said. She swung her axe at a small tree.

Kent licked his lips. ‘Catherine doesn’t know,’ he said. ‘Nor should she.’

Marjorie yanked the axe free. ‘I won’t promise that.’

Kent swallowed his first response. ‘Catherine would be hurt to know that POTUS is working. So many family events have already been co-opted by political necessity.’

Marjorie’s expression was as blank as ever, but he had the impression that she was squirming.

‘She’ll find out.’

‘But afterwards,’ Kent said. ‘Let Catherine have her family Christmas. Better to have that memory somewhat tarnished than have no memory at all.’

Marjorie weighed her axe. ‘I’ll think about it.’

‘Understood.’

There was a pause that lengthened into discomfort.

‘I need more wood,’ Kent said.

Marjorie moved a few feet away. For a few minutes there was only the sound of wooden death.

‘Mr Davison.’

‘Agent Palmiotti.’

‘You’ve known Catherine a long time,’ Marjorie said.

‘A few years,’ he said.

Marjorie gave a tiny sigh. ‘Is it always like this?’

Kent thought about it. ‘Yes.’

***

Sue allowed herself a few moments to watch Kent building a fire. As a treat. She enjoyed competence. It had rarity value.

‘Can you get a signal?’ Mike asked.

‘Everyone is here,’ she said.

‘Wendy isn’t,’ Mike whined. ‘Debralee isn’t.’

Sue raised an eyebrow.

‘Our surrogate! She’s going for her scan.’

Sue returned her attention to her laptop. ‘I see.’

‘I’m not cheating,’ Mike said. ‘I know how lucky I am to have Wendy. I thank my lucky stars every day.’ He threw himself into a chair. ‘You must know how I feel, huh, newlywed? Gotta admit I’m kinda hurt you didn’t invite me to your wedding.’

‘Nobody from work came,’ she said.

‘I invited you to mine.’

Sue didn’t look up from her screen. ‘You invited everyone.’

‘You didn’t even show wedding photos,’ Mike said. ‘Hey, are you thinking of having kids soon? We can recommend a great OBGYN.’

Now Sue looked at him. ‘You sound like Gary.’

‘Oh God. Really?’

‘Very much so,’ Kent said.

Mike folded his arms across his chest. ‘I was just wondering if you were missing your husband.’

Sue gave him a look. ‘No.’

‘Meanwhile, Ben might not recognise his wife if he tripped over her,’ Kent said, brushing off his hands.

Ben took a swig from his hip flask. ‘Sure I would. If I tripped over her, she’d be the one kicking me in the ribs.’

***

It was a large knife. Sue kept finding her attention drawn towards it. The handle was worn down: the paint blurred to a misty blue, but the blade was gleaming. It was newly oiled, kept free of rust, and recently sharpened.

‘Will you quit it with the  _Deliverance_  bullshit?’ Ben asked.

Kent looked up. ‘Are you sulking that between the drinking and the DTs your hands are never steady enough to whittle?’

‘No, I’m weirded out that our resident techie math geek has started running around with an axe and a knife. Do we have to get a blood test or an exorcist?’

‘Why do people keep accusing me of running around? First Palmiotti and now you.’

Mike stopped staring morosely at his cell. ‘When was that?’

Kent blew wood dust away. ‘While I was chopping fire wood she was collecting the same for their cabin.’

‘Oh fucking fantastic,’ Ben groaned. ‘Did you moon the Chinese while you were there?’

‘I resisted that urge.’ Kent squinted at his knife. ‘I believe I persuaded her not to tell Catherine of our presence.’

‘Did she say anything about me?’ Mike asked. ‘She and Catherine were super pissed that I mentioned to the press that Catherine is a lesbian.’

Ben pitched a balled up piece of paper it at Mike’s head. ‘You outed Catherine to the entire fucking world. FYI, Mike, outing people is generally considered a no-no.’

***

‘I could eat a horse,’ Mike groaned as they trooped back into Hickory Lodge.

‘You wanna go back to Laurel for that,’ Ben said.

‘That’s not cool,’ Mike said, while Kent shook his head.

Sue looked up from the book she was reading. It was evident from their body language and expressions that things had not gone well.

That she had no emotional investment in POTUS’s successes and failures was a wellspring that never ran dry.

‘The crock-pot is still on,’ Sue said.

Kent was hanging up his coat. ‘And it will remain on for another twelve minutes and fifty-three seconds, at which point our Mexican Chicken Stew will be fully cooked and ready to eat.’

‘Oh fuck,’ Ben said. ‘Dessert.’

Kent cocked his head. ‘You didn’t make dessert.’

‘In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been dealing with the damn Chinese negotiations all day.’

‘As have we all,’ Kent said.

‘I brought the ingredients, I just haven’t a chance to bake yet.’

Kent checked his watch. ‘Very well. If we work together we can put them in the oven and they will be ready in approximately an hour.

That should allow sufficient time for us to eat our main course and digest sufficiently.’

‘Oh joy,’ Ben groaned.

***

Mike threw his jacket on the back of his chair and slumped down. ‘Do you think they’re going to be a while?’ he asked.

Sue looked at him over the top of her book. ‘The stew will take as long as Kent said.’

‘Is he a pretty good cook?’ Mike groaned as his stomach rumbled. ‘It’s not like there are robot chefs.’

‘Cooking, if approached as a science rather than an art, is precisely something at which a robot would excel.’

Ben wandered in clutching a bottle of wine. ‘Julia Childs is putting out dinner,’ he said, waggling the bottle. ‘Who wants a drink?’

‘You have to ask?’ Sue asked, reaching for a glass.

‘Hello?’ a voice called.

Ben scowled at Mike. ‘Why didn’t you lock the fucking door?’

‘I didn’t think.’

Minna walked into the room. ‘Hello. Is Selina here?’

Ben shook his head. ‘She’s with her family. You can’t go there.’

‘That is unfortunate,’ Minna said. ‘I am seeking food and company.’

Sue knew it was going to happen. The only issue at question was how long it would take.

‘Do you want to eat with us?’ Mike offered.

‘Thank you. Yes.’

Ben jerked his thumb towards the kitchen. ‘You can go tell Kent he needs to find another plateful of food out of his ass.’

‘I do not wish to eat ass food,' Minna said.

‘It’s just an expression,' Mike said as he stood up.

‘You hope,’ Ben said.

Minna hung up her coat and sat down opposite Sue. ‘You are Selina’s secretary?’

'Yes.'

‘Your lover is the campaign manager, yes? Mr Davison.’

Sue’s glare could have melted steel.

‘Sue got married last year,’ Ben said. ‘Kent’s loss.’

‘Oh,’ Minna said. ‘Congratulations.’

‘Thank you,’ Sue said, slightly mollified.

‘I hope you are the minority in America whose marriage does not end in divorce.’

‘Don’t worry, Sue,’ Ben said quickly. ‘I’ve got your share.’

‘That is not how statistics works,’ Minna said.

Before he could answer. Mike opened the door.

‘Food’s out,' he said.

***

They sat around the large table with Sue trapped between Ben and Minna. Sue found the other woman far too invasive, not to mention distracting. Ben had filled up Minna’s glass first, leaving Sue with only half a glass.

‘Is that all?’ Mike asked.

‘There are other bottles, pinhead.’ Ben shook his head. ‘Go open one.’

‘What food is this?’ Minna asked.

‘Food you didn’t pay for or cook,’ Ben said. ‘Approach it in that spirit.’

Kent frowned at him. ‘It’s a Mexican stew,' he said to Minna. ‘Chicken with chorizo, vegetables, potatoes, and a touch or chilli.’

‘It’s very good,’ she said.

‘Thank you.’

‘You should have made this for Miss Wilson,’ Minna said. ‘Perhaps she would not have married another man.’

Kent narrowed his eyes. ‘Are you aware of the American phrase “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything?’”

‘Telling you that your food is good is not nice?’

‘Speculating on my private life isn’t.’ He gestured at Sue. ‘You also offended Miss Wilson.’

Minna glanced at Sue. ‘No offence was intended.’

‘My personal life is not for discussion,’ Sue said severely.

Mike slurped his stew. ‘We never talk about this stuff. Personal stuff. Why is that? We work together all the time and we barely know each other.’

Ben ripped open a bread roll. ‘You talk about your shit all the time.’

‘Nobody else does,’ Mike protested.

‘Take the point,’ Sue said.

‘I will begin quite gladly,’ Minna offered. ‘Mr McClintock is quite right. Openness and honesty are the keystone to all relationships.’

Ben and Kent exchanged a look.

‘Very well,’ Minna said. ‘I am forty-six. I have been divorced a few months-’

‘Oh right,’ Mike said. ‘Was that because of the groping?’

She looked at him blankly. ‘The groping?’

Ben held his hands out at chest height, squeezed, and make a honking sound.

Kent gave him a disgusted look. ‘Was that necessary?’

‘I do not understand,’ Minna said.

Mike lent forward. ‘Your husband assaulted... ow! Damn, you guys! You don’t all have to kick me at once!’

‘The victim of the attack is understandably reluctant to have her identity widely disseminated,’ Kent said. ‘But your husband... made an unwelcome, unwanted, and unexpected sexual advance by seizing her breast.’

Minna took a large drink of wine. ‘I was not aware of that.’

Kent spread his hands. ‘In the spirit of openness and honesty.’

‘Indeed. Marriage is a difficult commitment to fulfil. I was saying to Miss Wilson,’ Minna said.

‘Keep your hands off the breasts of women you’re not married to seems a pretty easy commitment,’ Ben said. ‘And I’ve been divorced three times.’

Minna raised her eyebrows. ‘To what do you ascribe your repeated failures to maintain a relationship?’

Sue smiled as Kent attempted to disguise his laughter as a cough.

‘Just lucky I guess.’ Ben waved his hand. ‘No, oh, mostly I work too hard. Too many hours. When you see your partner a few days a month, at most, they get fed-up, they get lonely, and they leave.’

‘I thought your previous wife divorced you for adultery,’ Kent said.

‘Well, yeah. Thanks for pointing that out,’ Ben said, scowling.

Mike licked his spoon. ‘Mine was just... arguing. All the time. We didn’t have a thing in common and once the… you know the shine, once that worn off we just drove each nuts.’

Ben caught Sue’s eye. ‘This must be fucking cheery for you, huh? Three divorced people and one asocial asshole who wouldn’t know how to maintain a relationship with a houseplant.’

Kent was taking a drink of wine. ‘Who’re you talking about?’

Ben rolled his eyes. ‘You of course. Who else is here?’

‘What makes you assume I’m a lifelong bachelor?’ Kent asked.

Ben started to laugh. ‘Are you fucking kidding me? All the shit you’ve given me about being divorced and you are too?’

Kent pushed his bowl away. ‘Number one, if I have referenced your divorces it is because they are divorces. Plural. Number two. I’m not divorced. Nor am I a lifelong bachelor.’

Sue’s hand tightened on her glass. ‘You’re not married.’

‘No. Not for a very long time.’ Kent wiped his mouth and beard with a napkin.

‘Did you get... annulment?’ Mike asked uncertainly.

‘Oh, you are you a widower?’ Minna asked at the same time. ‘How did your wife die?’

Kent waved a hand. ‘No, to the annulment. Yes, to being widowed.’

Ben sat back, his mouth slightly open. ‘You’re fucking kidding. You were married and she died?’

‘You were married?’ Sue asked, eyes narrowed.

‘It was a very long time ago,’ Kent said. ‘I was very young.’

‘How young?’ Mike asked.

‘I was nineteen when I married.’

Ben snorted. ‘Did you get her pregnant?’

Kent scowled. ‘Certainly not.’

Mike shook his head. ‘Nineteen practically is a kid.’

‘Americans mature very late now,’ Minna said. ‘Being thirty-five and living in parents’ basement is not healthy.’

Ben shuddered. ‘Tell that to my oldest.’

‘So what happened?’ Mike asked Kent. ‘Was it an accident?’

‘Of a nature. She was a haemophiliac. Unfortunately, she received tainted blood products during the AIDS epidemic,’ Kent said.

‘That’s awful,’ Mike said quietly.

‘It was AIDS that she died of?’ Minna asked. ‘Do you also have the disease?’

‘Holy fuck, lady!’ Ben groaned. ‘What is wrong with you?’

Kent briefly touched Ben’s shoulder but addressed Minna. ‘No. I don’t.’

‘I do not mean to offend,’ she said. ‘The loss of your wife must have been devastating. You must have been married some years, yes? The disease was not identified until the early eighties and illness and death-’

‘Fifteen years,’ Kent interrupted. ‘But it was a very long time ago.’ He stood up. ‘If everyone has finished their main course, I will fetch dessert.’

As he headed into the kitchen, Mike leaned towards Sue.

‘Did you know all that about his wife?’

‘No,’ Sue said. She narrowed her eyes as Minna followed Kent into the kitchen.

‘Where the fuck is she going?’ Ben asked.

‘Maybe she’s going to apologise,’ Mike suggested.

‘Or help him slit his wrists.’ Ben shook his head. ‘I thought that Kent was emotionally tone deaf but that woman is something else.’

Sue got up. She wasn’t even aware she was going to do it until she was halfway there.

‘Oh boy,’ she heard Ben say. ‘A cat fight, and me without a camera.’

***

In the kitchen, Sue saw that Minna had her hand on Kent’s forearm. Sue cleared her throat. Minna glanced at Sue and missed the flash of redness in his cheeks.

‘Miss Wilson, you will agree with me that Mr Davison should seek female company. It is very unhealthy for older men to be unmarried.’

Sue narrowed her eyes. ‘Mr Davison’s love life is his affair.’

***

‘These are great,’ Mike said, his mouth full of fruit and pastry.

‘My mom’s recipe,’ Ben said.

‘The next time we all meet like this I will be better prepared,’ Minna said. ‘We have many healthy foods you would enjoy.’

‘We’re Americans,’ Ben said. ‘We hate healthy food.’

Minna crossed her legs. ‘I do not think that Miss Wilson or Mr Davison agree. They are both healthily proportioned.’

Mike frowned and silently poked his stomach.

‘Don’t drag me into this,’ Kent said.

‘Selina also is quite a proper shape,’ Minna said. ‘Although I am sure surgery helps.’ She turned to Sue. ‘It is a very American thing this obsession with physical perfection. It must be oppressive.’

‘Why are you looking at me?’ Sue asked.

‘Hair straightening is very painful is it not?’

‘Hair relaxation is intensely painful,’ Sue said.

‘Quite so. You are oppressed. The men here, they do not have surgery to look more attractive or to appear younger.’

There was a murmur of dissent from the men.

‘Plenty of guys get hair plugs,’ Ben said.

‘Or dye their hair,’ Mike said.

‘That is not the same,’ Minna said severely. ‘Selina has had surgery on her eyes.’

‘Oh, I thought you were gonna say breasts,’ Mike said. He looked at Kent. ‘She told us that time she had breast implants. Right?’

‘In a... roundabout way.’

Sue snorted. ‘That was not money well spent.’

‘More wine for Sue!’ Ben said. ‘Shall we play a game?’

‘You only ever want to play drinking games,’ Kent protested.

‘I like drinking, Sue likes drinking, Mike likes drinking. What’s not to like?’

‘I have seen a game on American media,’ Minna said. ‘An honesty game. One person announces they have never done something. If the others have they take a drink.’

The others shrugged.

‘Okay,’ Ben said. ‘As long as it’s understood that nothing we say leaves this lodge.’

Minna nodded in agreement.

‘Okay, then.’

‘I’ll go first,’ Sue said. ‘Never have I ever lied to the president.’

‘Really?’ Kent asked as they all drank.

‘Yes.’ She folded her hands together. ‘I don’t even tell her white lies.’

‘That I can believe,’ Ben said. ‘You though,’ he said to Minna. ‘I didn’t think you were capable of censoring yourself.’

‘Selina does not always act in her own best interests,’ Minna said. She misinterpreted the glances and expressions that this prompted. ‘No, it is true.’

Kent tilted his head. ‘What lie did you tell her?’

‘I am quite ashamed,’ Minna said. ‘I told her I had not seen her broach when she could not find it. It was large and so very ugly. I let her think it had been misplaced.’

‘You monster,’ Ben said.

Kent touched her hand. ‘Don’t admit that to Gary,’ he advised. ‘As far as he’s concerned the president’s clothing and headwear are sacred.’

‘I will remember that,’ she said.

‘He’s not joking,’ Mike said. ‘Gary is obsessed.’

Minna nodded. ‘Also, he wishes to sleep with her, yes?’

Sue’s lips twitched. ‘At the foot of her bed most likely.’

‘Your turn,’ Ben said to Minna.

She nodded. ‘Very well. Never have I ever been sexually intimate with a member of my own gender.’

Nobody touched their glasses.

‘That was random,’ Ben said.

‘Do we have anyone who would’ve drunk?’ Mike wondered. ‘Apart from Catherine, I mean.’

Kent waggled his hand. ‘Possibly Richard.’

Mike’s eyes widened. ‘You think?’

‘Richard is a possibility,’ Sue agreed.

‘I do not think that I know Richard,’ Minna said.

Ben shrugged. ‘One of those guys so smart that they’re functionally idiots. No sense. Says whatever crosses his mind. You’d like him.’

‘He’s a teddy bear,’ Mike said. ‘I don’t think he’ll last long. No killer instinct.’

‘Your question failed,’ Sue said to Minna. ‘You need to drink.’

‘I understand.’ Minna knocked back her whole glass.

Ben snorted. ‘Not sure you do. Mike?’

‘Oh, right.’ Mike straightened up. ‘Uh, never have I ever… slept with a co-worker.’

Kent, Sue, and Ben all drank.

‘I am unsure if I want to ask,’ Sue said.

‘If it’s the person of whom I am thinking then you are correct to vacillate,’ Kent said dryly.

Ben waved a thick finger at Kent. ‘Don’t you fucking say a word.’

Minna lent forward. ‘Your lover is in the White House?’

‘She wasn’t then but she is now,’ Ben said. ‘Famously so.’

Sue saw Kent wince.

‘No!’ Mike gasped. ‘Not –’

‘Don’t say it,’ Ben warned. ‘Don’t you fucking say it.’

Minna was frowning. ‘You had sexual intercourse with Selina? Why would she do that when she is so much more attractive than you are?’

Sue smiled slightly. ‘There are other reasons.’

‘But she is also more powerful and is rich,’ Minna said.

‘Alcohol was involved,’ Kent murmured. ‘Copious amounts of alcohol.’

‘Hey, don’t judge me,’ Ben said.

‘It wasn’t you we were judging,’ Kent retorted.

‘I was just as drunk as she was,’ Ben said.

‘You’re the one who was married,’ Kent said.

‘Fuck you. You’re just jealous you didn’t get to knock boots with her.’

‘Get her drunk enough and she’ll sleep with anyone,’ Mike said. He licked his lips when they looked at him. ‘Not that I ever did. But back in the day when she was a senator, wowee.’

‘This was after her marriage failed?’ Minna asked.

‘Yeah.’

‘Then it is not worth the comment. An unmarried woman may sleep with whomever she wishes.’

‘Hear, hear,’ Sue murmured.

She saw Kent narrow his eyes.

‘My turn,’ he said. ‘Never have I ever cheated on a partner.’

Ben, Sue, and Mike drank.

‘Expected better of you, Mike,’ Ben said, shaking his head.

‘I was on the wrestling team. I had offers. I was weak.’

Ben laughed. ‘Girls in your town really short of jocks, huh?’

Minna shook her head. ‘Americans are so obsessed with sports. The rest of the world are baffled by college football and so forth.’

‘I played a little football,’ Ben said. ‘I was okay. No great.’

‘I was on our basketball team,’ Sue said. ‘I was exceptional.’

Ben flicked a drop of wine at Kent. ‘I suppose you were on the chess team.’

‘We didn’t have a chess team.’ Kent shrugged. ‘I ran track.’

‘Were you successful?’ Minna asked.

‘Reasonably. Better than I was at baseball or football.’

Ben sniggered. ‘Are there track groupies?’

‘There are always those who appreciate physical fitness, and a physique that doesn’t resemble a potato.’

Mike groaned. ‘Ouch.’

Ben waved his hands. ‘Okay, Mr Goody-Goody. You’ve never cheated? I have never ever been the person being cheated with.’

‘Hardly surprising,’ Kent said, taking a drink.

Minna did as well.

‘You, Miss Häkkinen?’ Mike said to her. ‘You seem so nice and upstanding.’

‘I did not know he was married.’

‘What the fuck about you, Casanova?’ Ben asked Kent.

‘Technically, the other man or woman is doing nothing wrong,’ Sue said.

‘That is not an ethically defensible argument,’ Minna said.

‘I’m not proud of it,’ Kent said. ‘I have no excuse.’ He rubbed his forehead as he sat back in his chair. ‘Sometimes we do things that we know to be morally objectionable because we selfishly prioritise our own needs and desires.’

‘That it?’ Ben asked.

‘That’s it.’

‘So you knew that she was in a relationship?’ Minna asked.

Kent nodded. ‘Yes. She made it quite clear that she would not be leaving her husband. That the relationship would be entirely on her terms and her whim.’

‘Where’s your damn self-respect?’ Ben asked.

Kent sipped his wine. He was mostly looking at his tie or hands. ‘Given the choice between self-respect and loneliness, I made the selfish choice.’

Sue folded her arms across her chest. ‘If you agreed then you have no right to complain.’

Kent grimaced. ‘I wasn’t complaining. Merely stating the facts.’

Minna put her hand over his. ‘You should complain! You should say, no! I am a man of intelligence and ability with gentle eyes and a good beard. I do not have to accept this. I am worth more. Yes?’

‘Uh…’

Ben cleared his throated. ‘For fuck’s sake, Sue, ask your question before this gets even weirder.'

‘Can it be something that isn’t about sex?’ Mike asked.

‘Perhaps something more uplifting,’ Minna said. ‘A desire as yet unfulfilled.’

Sue nodded. ‘Never have I ever fired a gun.’

Ben and Minna drank.

‘Why would you want to fire a gun?’ Kent asked Sue.

‘To see what the fuss is about.’

‘It’s overrated,’ Ben said.

‘Guns make me so nervous,’ Mike said. ‘I expect them to go off if I just look at them.’

‘Guns are tools,’ Kent said. ‘Tools that have a number of uses, unfortunately one of which is killing people. Sometimes a great many people in a very short space of time.’

‘I do not like them,’ Minna said. ‘I was challenged to fire one by an enthusiast who assured me I would change my mind. I did not.’

Kent was nodding. ‘My brother is a huge gun enthusiast. He has asked me several times to go hunting. The idea holds absolutely no appeal.’

‘I don’t even like killing spiders,’ Mike said.

‘It is my turn now?’ Minna asked. ‘Never have I ever, ingested cannabis.’

Everyone drank.

Mike sniggered. ‘You, Sue?’

‘I was young once,’ she said.

‘How long ago was that?’ Kent asked.

‘It was exactly none of your business,’ she said severely.

Ben opened another bottle. ‘Smoking pot is one of your aspirations?’

Minna shrugged. ‘It is as Miss Wilson says, to see what the fuss it’s about.’

Mike lent forward. ‘You know, it’s legal in Washington now.’

‘I am in no position to walk into a shop and buy it. Legal and acceptable are not the same.’

Kent took a small case from his pocket, opened it, and held it out to Minna.

‘These are cannabis?’ she asked.

‘Dry herb vaporizer pens. Far fewer health hazards than smoking it,’ Kent said.

‘Are you fucking kidding me?’ Ben demanded.

‘No way,’ Mike said shaking his head.

Ben gulped wine. ‘Let me get this straight. You, POTUS’s senior adviser, came to Camp David, for negotiations with the Chinese President, with a pocketful of Mary Jane vapes?’

Kent turned on the vaporizer pen for Minna. ‘You don’t want one then?’

‘I’d prefer a joint,’ Ben said. ‘But I’ll take whatever is on offer.’

Kent turned on another and handed it to Ben as Minna was spluttering.

‘Smaller inhalations,’ Sue advised.

‘Mike?’ Kent asked.

‘Can’t. Still on the old health kick.’ He patted his chest.

Ben relaxed back into his chair. ‘Guess we know who’s going to be sent out for munchies in a half-hour.’

Kent turned on the last vape. He glanced at Sue, who shook her head.

‘I hope I do not become too hungry,’ Minna said.

‘We can go raid POTUS’s cabin,’ Ben laughed. ‘Or the Chinese. They’ll have some great nibbles.’

‘How strong is that stuff?’ Mike murmured to Kent.

‘Strong enough.’

‘On that note,’ Sue said, standing up. ‘I am going to bed.’

There was pleasing babble of requests that she stay.

‘Perhaps I should go to my cabin,’ Minna said. She stood up, bumping heavily against the table.

‘Perhaps I should walk you there,’ Kent offered.

Sue set her shoulders.

Minna’s smile was distinctly askew.

‘Don’t don’t anything I wouldn’t do,’ Ben wheezed.

‘If we have learnt anything tonight,’ Kent said, ‘it is that there is little you will not do."

 

 

Day Two – December Twentieth

 

At five o’clock, Sue was woken by the front door of the cabin being opened and closed. She heard some indistinct movements, and then silence. She considered emailing or texting home. No. There was no point. There would only be another argument. More suppressed anger escaping as sharp comments. Neither of them would say the one thing that was unmistakably true.

He didn’t know that Kent was at the cabin. He knew very little about Kent. What he knew was enough that he would have been furious. What he didn’t know, she had no intention of him ever finding out.

Sue did not make mistakes. She did not get her heart broken. She had not made a hasty decision to lash out in pain and anger. She had not refused to try again when she knew, _knew_ , that it was only her pride stopping her. She did not create a mire of misery because she refused to admit she had been rebounding.

But she might slap that smug, stupid smile off Minna’s face. She might wish POTUS would trip her up and tread her Finnish face right into the snow.

Sue didn’t have regrets. She didn’t believe in them. They were self-indulgent. Misery masturbation. But when she finally returned to sleep, it wasn’t her husband’s face she saw or voice she heard.

***

Sue got up at six. The rest of the cabin was quiet and dark. She sat quietly in the kitchen and had a coffee. She was quite calm. She wasn’t irritated, agitated, or aggravated.

After her coffee, she went for a shower. Even with the door closed she could hear someone snoring. A dull snnnr snnnr vzzzz that rumbled around speaking level. She thought it was Ben but she wasn’t entirely sure. She had no interest in the intimacy of hearing Ben or Mike’s sleeping symphony. She found Mike’s incompetence even more grating than his sloppy clothing and endless catastrophes. Ben was competent, at least, but she found his endless aggression, alcoholism, and disordered manner utterly off-putting.

She had left her clothes in her room. Damn. She wrapped the towel around herself. Then she took a moment to adjust the towel so that it emphasised her cleavage.

Sue pushed open the bathroom door, and walked into Mike.

‘Oh shit!’ he said, eyes widening. ‘I’m not looking!’

‘Nice look, Sue,’ Ben said as he wandered past

‘Get out of the way,’ she snapped.

Mike stumbled backwards. ‘Right. Right.’

As she marched to her bedroom she heard whistling. Through the slight gap where his door was ajar, she saw Kent in the tree position, whistling a Beatles song she faintly remembered.

He didn’t glance towards her and she didn’t say anything.

***

He was still whistling through breakfast. Mike and Sue were both nursing hangovers.

‘Jesus, will you fucking stop?’ Ben demanded, spooning heaps of sugar into his coffee. ‘What do you have to be so happy about anyway?’

Kent crunched toast. ‘It’s a beautiful day.’

‘It’s fucking freezing!’

‘But it’s sunny.’ He nodded towards the fire. ‘I got some more wood. It’s brisk, certainly, but not unpleasant.’

‘Did you manage to get a signal?’ Mike asked. ‘I still can’t get through to Wendy or Debralee.’

Ben rolled his eyes. ‘You’ll be home tomorrow evening.’

‘This is the longest time I’ve gone without speaking to Wendy,’ Mike said. ‘I’m worried and I miss her. You haven’t been married long, Sue. You know what I’m saying.’

Sue’s headache was pulsing behind her temple. ‘I do not.’

‘Come on. Wendy’s my rock. My happy place when things are bad.’

Sue slammed her cup down onto its saucer. ‘Your problem, Mike, is that you live in a fantasy world. Marriage is difficult. That is why so many fail. Marriage isn’t a "happy place" it’s a cold war.’

They stared at her. Ben's spoon was dripping maple syrup. Kent had a cup of coffee halfway to his lips. Mike tried to pat her shoulder.

She shrugged it off.

‘If you guys are having trouble...’

‘I’m not discussing it.’

Ben stirred. ‘I know a good divorce lawyer.’

'You must have nearly enough divorces to get your next one free,’ Kent suggested.

Sue glowered at them both.

*** 

Sue didn’t get embarrassed. She was, however, annoyed that events and people had conspired to irritate her to the point that she had spoken about her marriage. She didn’t do that. Kent had asked, once or twice, but she had given him short shrift. She didn’t discuss work at home. She didn’t discuss home at work. She never spoke about her husband to Kent. She never spoke about Kent to her husband. The only reason he knew anything was because her mother had taken delight in telling him all about Sue’s exes. She had tried to do the same with Kent but he had declined to listen. Not due to jealousy, but because he understood Sue wouldn’t want him to listen.

***

Sue spent much of the day alone. That suited her perfectly well. In the afternoon she went for a walk. Negotiations had stalled and everyone had spent the day running around attempting to get cell signals. Minna’s lodge was a few hundred feet from theirs. No real distance. Certainly there was no practical reason it should have taken Kent more than a few minutes to walk her there and then come back.

Sue circled around Minna’s cabin. The lights were off. Minna’s hire car was parked neatly next to the cabin.

*** 

They were all burbling with excitement when they returned to the cabin. Mike practically bounced into the room. Ben slid his arm around Sue's waist and whirled her in a circle. Kent caught and steadied her when she staggered back a couple of steps. She slapped his hands away and shot him a glare.

‘Forgive us for the exuberance,’ Kent said, stepping away from her. ‘Today was unexpectedly successful in a manner we never anticipated.’

‘Sorry, Sue,’ Ben said sheepishly. ‘Please don’t cut off my dick. It’d ruin the line of my suits.’

‘We’ll see,’ she said, smoothing her dress.

‘What the fuck are you doing?’ Ben asked Kent.

Kent was turning his knife over and over in his hands. ‘This morning I spent an hour looking for this.’

‘I found it under the coffee table,’ Sue lied, smoothly.

Mike sidled in from the pantry. ‘Uh, Sue, did you start cooking already?’

Kent sucked in his breath.

Mike paled at her expression. ‘I know that we agreed that you’d pay and I’d buy the ingredients and cook but they’re not in there so I wondered…’

‘I don’t cook,’ Sue said flatly.

Mike licked his lips. ‘I definitely bought the ingredients. I put them on the side to pack and I… I know what happened. I must’ve left them there.’ He withered under their silent, accusatory glares. ‘I guess we could get takeout…’

‘I guess you’ll have to,’ Ben said.

Mike’s shoulders dropped.

‘Gonna take a shower,’ Ben announced. He wagged a finger at Mike. ‘You best be back with pizza and wings before I finish.’

Sue walked into the kitchen, and filled the kettle.

A few seconds later she heard someone enter the room behind her. She knew it was Kent without looking. She recognised the unique rhythm of his movement: the fetch and carry of his breath, the slight jingle of his keys in his pocket, and the slight scrape of his instep against the floor.

Sue didn’t turn around.

‘Mike’s gone,’ Kent said. ‘Ben’s in the shower.’

Sue didn’t turn around.

‘I thought –’

‘We are in a semi-public place.’

He touched her elbow. Just with his fingertips. The way he used to touch her, right at the beginning. She had liked it then. The diffidence had been oddly charming.

‘Don’t paw at me,’ she said.

She heard him take a breath. She thought he was about to say something. Instead he walked away.

***

‘Room for one more?’

They were gathered around the table, eating pizza when Gary burbled in. Sue took the distraction of his entrance to steal a buffalo wing drizzled in blue cheese sauce from Kent’s plate.

‘What, did Andrew turn feral?’ Ben asked.

Gary shrugged. ‘It’s family. You know. I didn’t like to intrude.’

‘POTUS threw you out,’ Mike said.

‘Yes she did.’

‘Did you at least bring a bottle?’ Ben asked.

Gary dug a sticky looking bottle out of his bag. ‘Peach schnapps?’

Ben looked at Kent, who shrugged.

***

As the darkness drew in and the temperature dropped, Kent stoked up the fire.

‘I should go back to the cabin,’ Gary said.

‘You can’t hold your liquor,’ Ben snorted.

‘They’re probably playing Monopoly again,’ Gary said.

‘The banker always cheats,’ Sue said.

‘Not always,’ Kent said sharply.

Sue raised an eyebrow. ‘Not being caught is not the same as being innocent.’

Ben smiled slightly. ‘Did you two break up over Monopoly?’

‘No,’ Sue said, severely.

Mike was rooting through the shelves. ‘There’s no set here but I found cards.’

Ben rubbed his hands together. ‘Who’s up for poker?’

Mike checked his wallet.

Kent shook his head. ‘I won’t be responsible for bankrupting a colleague.’

‘Not financially,’ Sue said. ‘Morally…’

‘I believe that would be strip poker,’ he retorted.

Gary giggled. ‘We can’t play strip poker. Can we play strip poker?’

‘I’d rather pay regular poker,’ Mike said.

‘Against a robot and a Vulcan?’ Gary giggled.

Kent pointed at him. ‘No more schnapps for you.’

***

‘The greatest thing about Wendy, is that she gets me on a deep, you know, primal level.’

Sue caught Kent’s eye, and raised her eyebrows. His lips twitched towards a sardonic smile.

Ben shuffled the cards. ‘Yeah, I felt like that when I got married. Every single time.’

‘You’re such a cynic,’ Gary said soberly.

‘I’m a realist.’

Kent snorted. ‘No realist would get married so many times.’

Ben poked Mike. ‘Enough soliloquies. Either take a drink, lose your shirt, or fold.’

‘After great deliberation, I’m going to remove my shirt,’ Mike said.

They were in a rough circle on the floor. Their shoes were in a neat pile. Ben and Sue were paying their losses in schnapps, although Ben was down a sweater and his watch. Mike was losing heavily, having already removed his watch, both socks, and a sweater. He’d also had two glasses of the schnapps, but after an emergency run to the toilet had announced he’d rather lose his clothes. Kent had lost a sweater and his watch, having eschewed the alcoholic option. Gary was lay on the floor, in his undershirt.

‘Aren’t you cold?’ Sue asked.

‘My feet are warm.’

‘Your feet are practically in the fire,’ she said.

Ben dealt. ‘You’re not gonna be able to do this when you have a kid,’ he said to Mike. ‘There’s no friendly games, no nights spent drinking, and absolutely no fun. There’s just work and exhaustedly trying to grab enough sleep to stop yourself from dying.’

‘I don’t care what you say,’ Mike mumbled. ‘I’m gonna love my kids so much.’

Gary screwed up his eyes in intense thought. ‘So much what?’

‘Kids plural?’ Kent asked.

‘Fold,’ Mike said. ‘I didn’t tell you? Debralee is having twins.’

‘Wow,’ Sue said.

‘That’s great,’ Gary said happily.

Kent was frowning. ‘She cannot be more than a few weeks along. There’s plenty of time for one to be absorbed.’

‘Oh my pimply ass.’ Ben threw a pillow at Kent. ‘The man tells you he’s expecting twins and you predict cannibalism?’

‘It happens in an estimated one in eight multiple births. That’s not an insignificant amount.’

‘Did you eat your twin?’ Sue asked.

Kent sighed heavily. ‘It’s not "eating," the foetus fails to develop and is absorbed either by the mother or the surviving foetus.’

‘Sounds like a confession,’ Sue said.

Mike grinned. ‘Kent, did you eat your twin?’

‘I did not absorb my twin.’

‘Thank Christ.’ Ben nudged Sue. ‘Can you imagine another Kent?’

‘I didn’t say that I didn’t have one.’ Kent was gripping his cards a little tightly. ‘I said I didn’t absorb him.’

Mike’s moustache move as he thought about it. ‘Wait…’

‘You have a twin?’ Sue asked.

‘Yes.

‘Identical?’ she clarified.

‘Monozygotic, yes. Physically extremely similar and the same IQ but otherwise completely different.’

‘Can we have him instead?’ Ben asked.

Kent looked at his cards. ‘If you believe that you’d have a practical use for a ballistics expert.’

‘Why does anyone need an expert in exercises?’ Gary asked.

‘Ballistics, not callisthenics,’ Kent said. ‘Bullets. Guns. Shooting.’

Mike hiccupped. ‘POTUS would love that. She’d carry a gun if she could.’

Ben prodded Gary with his foot. ‘You’d have to accessorise them with her purses.’

‘So, is he the evil one or you?’ Gary asked Kent.

‘What?’

‘Gotta be Kent,’ Ben said. ‘The evil twin is always the one with the beard.’

Sue’s lips twitched in amusement at Kent’s disgusted expression.

‘In fact, although he sometimes wears a beard, Kurt tends towards a moustache,’ he said. ‘However, he is in the Tea Party, so that might be a better indicator of his moral nature.’

‘Your brother’s name is Kurt?’ Sue asked.

Ben took a belt of Scotch. ‘He looks like you, is called almost the same thing, and is in the Tea Party? How the fuck has that not been leapt on by the Reddit tinfoil hat brigade?’

Kent groaned softly. ‘In reverse order of importance: he lives in Chicago, he’s not a politician, and his name isn’t Davison.’

Sue laid down her cards. A ripple of disappointment around the room. ‘Clothes only,’ she said.

Ben was struggling to reach his socks. ‘So you… have the same IQ… and facial hair but different names. How?’

Kent neatly folded up his shirt. ‘When our parents divorced, my father took Kurt with him and I remained with our mother. I took her name.’

Ben was scowling. ‘How old were you?’

‘Eleven years.’

‘What the fuck is wrong with your parents?’ Ben demanded. ‘You split a fucking record collection not a pair of twins!’

‘Isn’t that the plot to _The parent trap_?’ Mike asked.

‘I wouldn’t know,’ Kent said coldly.

Gary stirred himself. ‘What does your brother look like?’

Kent narrowed his me. ‘Like me. Hence the term “identical twins.” However, he tends towards jeans and a lot of flannel.’

‘Sounds like he’d get on with Marjorie,’ Ben said.

Kent gave him a look.

‘What? She’s wearing a checked flannel shirt,’ Ben protested.

‘I cannot imagine you in flannel,’ Sue said.

‘I don’t wear it,’ Kent said, with a hint of distaste. ‘Nor do I hunt, support abortion protests, or believe that the government is plotting to take people’s guns.’

Mike stole a card while everyone was distracted. ‘Does he think 9/11 was an inside job?’

‘There may be some overlap between the Tea Party and conspiracy theorists, but Kurt is not contained therein.’

‘Just saying, I’ve heard stories.’

‘We are the government, you fucking idiot,’ Ben said. ‘Do you think we could coordinate a massive terrorist attack and an insanely complicated cover up?’

‘You couldn’t even cover up the data breach,’ Sue said.

‘I can keep a secret!’ Mike protested.

Sue raised an eyebrow. ‘You cannot.’

‘Not as well as me,’ Gary sang.

‘Okay spill,’ Ben said. ‘What’s your darkest secret? We’re all friends.’

‘I was going to quit and sell cheese with Dana,’ Gary said.

‘What kind of cheese?’ Mike asked.

Ben lightly kicked Gary’s hip. ‘That’s not even a secret never mind a dark one. Christ.’

‘I never told anyone before!’

‘I’ve never told anyone how I clip my nails,’ Ben said. ‘That doesn’t make it a secret.’

Mike played with his cards. ‘I read Wendy’s diary,’ he admitted. ‘Before we were dating. I was housesitting for her and I found it. Um, there was stuff about things she liked. Helped me to get dates with her.’

Gary’s face was an image of horror. ‘You didn’t.’

‘I wasn’t aware that you are the lead in a romantic comedy,’ Kent said dryly.

***

Gary had passed out on the sofa in his tighty whiteys.

‘We should tug those down,’ Ben said, vaping again.

‘You can take the boy out of the frat house,’ Kent said.

Mike was sprawled in a chair. ‘I couldn’t get into a fraternity. I did all the stuff. They turned me down.’

‘No shit,’ Ben said, heaving himself to his feet. ‘Maybe we should hire the same way.’

‘What about you, Kent?’ Mike asked. ‘You in a frat?’

He looked up. ‘You could not have paid me to join a fraternity.’

Ben snorted. ‘Like any of them would’ve taken you.’

‘I was in a sorority,’ Sue said. ‘We did not assault our members either as a joining ritual or as some twisted type of humour.’

‘Were there pillow fights?’ Kent asked. There was a relaxed cast to his face that she knew was the alcohol and the pot. He thought it gave him license to tease her.

Sue raised an eyebrow. ‘Certainly, but only while dressed as Catholic schoolgirls.’

There was a thoughtful silence.

‘Why is it always Catholic schoolgirls?’ Mike asked after a moment.

‘Because Amish schoolgirls are more of a niche thing,’ Ben said.

Kent was still processing the image of her dressed as a Catholic schoolgirl.

Good.

‘Night, children,’ Ben announced. ‘Call me if there’s a pillow fight.’

***

Sue took off her earrings and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked good. She wasn’t flattering herself. She had a few tiny lines in the corners of her eyes but nothing overly obvious. No laughter lines. She stepped back to look at her body. A little soft here and there but she was working on that. Her hand lingered on her stomach. Kent liked to spoon behind her, rest his chin on her shoulder, and stroke her belly. He’d lay there all night, if he could. He’d live there, if he could. Sue’s feelings were more ambiguous.

She couldn’t think about that. She couldn’t think about him bringing painkillers, heat packs, and chocolate once a month. Her husband never did that. It would never occur to him. She never told any man. A few of them didn’t need to be told. The rest never knew. They didn’t deserve her confidences.

Sue changed into a short nightshirt. She removed her makeup and brushed out her hair.

  
She heard the snoring again. Mike or Ben. Mike was simple and obvious to the point of idiocy. Ben was a simple binary: work and home. Kent was far more multi-layered. Men had no business being opaque or complex. They had no right to appear coolly indifferent, calm, and self-controlled only to prove by turns tentative, gentle, and passionate. They had no right to want, need, more than she was able to give.

The tap at the door was barely audible. It was closer to a break in the silence than an actual sound.

Sue unlocked the door and opened it. He was just a shape in the darkness, a deeper shadow than the rest of the corridor. But it was a shape she knew.

She stood aside to let him enter the bedroom. He should be strutting. He should be smug. Instead he was rubbing the back of his neck. Shuffling his feet.

Sue locked the door behind him.

‘I wasn’t sure if you were going to open the door,’ he said quietly.

‘You’re the one who went elsewhere last night.’

Now he met her eyes. ‘You spend every night elsewhere.’

Sue pushed a few strands of hair out of his eyes.

He caught her hand and pressed it to his cheek.

‘You need to shave.’

He smiled slightly at that. ‘I wouldn’t survive saying that to you.’

‘You wouldn’t deserve to.’ She kissed him. Pressed her lips softly against his. ‘Come to bed.’

   
                                                                             

Day Three – December Twenty-First

  
Gary was sprawled on the couch. Drooling. Sue shook his shoulder until he spluttered into something approaching coherency.

‘Oh my God,’ he groaned, sitting up.

‘Sue will do,’ she said.

‘How much did I drink last night?’

Sue sat opposite him. ‘At least half a bottle of schnapps.’

‘I feel like I gargled a peach cobbler.’ Gary suddenly paled. ‘Was there something last night about dark secrets?’

‘Yes.’

‘No, no, no.’ Gary grabbed her hand. ‘You cannot tell anyone I saw Selina and Tom James having sex.’

There was a gasp. Sue yanked her hand free.

‘You saw what?’ Mike demanded.

‘I told you last night! At the congressional ball I saw Selina and Tom having sex on a couch.’

‘You did not tell us that,’ Sue said. ‘You told us that your darkest secret was that you were going to quit and sell cheese with Dana.’

Gary shook his head. ‘What was I thinking? Why would I ever quit?’

***

‘You saw them doing what?’ Ben asked.

They were having breakfast. At least Mike hadn’t forgotten to bring that.

‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ Gary said. ‘It’s too traumatic.’

‘You know it’s not just something mommies and daddies do because they love each other very much, right?' Mike asked.

‘It’s an interesting approach to dealing with a rival,’ Kent said. ‘I wonder if it will in any way alter things.’

‘Selina’s not gonna let a little thing like sex change how she feels,’ Ben said. ‘Tom James... who knows.’

Mike scraped butter across his toast. ‘I don’t know how you can have sex with someone you hate.’

Kent poured coffee. ‘It has been said that hatred is not the opposite of love. If you hate someone, there remains a force of attraction, warped and twisted as it may be.’

‘Christ, I hope not,’ Ben said. ‘Because I fucking hate Dan Egan.’

Kent’s lips twitched. ‘I hate Jonah Ryan.’

A shudder ran around the room.

‘You and Jonah,’ Ben groaned. ‘I’m trying to eat.’

‘You and Dan,’ Kent returned.

‘I would have rather seen either of those things,’ Gary said.

Ben sat back. ‘Look on the bright side: now you know two ways to get Selina to bang you. Get her drunk or get her incredibly angry.’

Gary gasped in horror.

‘Don’t get her drunk,’ Kent said quickly. ‘That is extremely dubious both legally and ethically.’

‘Stick to roofies,’ Ben said.

Gary headed for the door. ‘I don’t have to listen to this filth.’

‘Poor guy,' Mike said as Gary slammed the cabin door behind him. ‘He’s crazy in love with her.’

‘Emphasis on crazy,’ Sue said.

‘Come on,’ Mike said. ‘We all know what it’s like. You just married, Sue, you must still be giddy with it. How long were you guys dating before he popped the question?’

‘Seven weeks.’

Kent raised his eyebrows. ‘Seven weeks?’

‘Some men are not afraid of commitment,’ she said.

‘Or marrying virtual strangers,’ Kent said.

‘Jesus, Sue, just how hard were you rebounding?’ Ben asked.

‘Whoa, man,’ Mike murmured.

‘You do not know me,’ Sue said, tightly gripping her spoon.

‘I know that what most people call “love” is really just lust. I know relationships are damned hard work, and hippie Jesus bullshit aside, you can’t love someone you don’t know.’

‘Says the man who has been married four times,’ Kent said sharply.

‘Says the man who therefore knows what he’s talking about. You can’t be in love with some guy you barely know,’ Ben shrugged.

Mike shook his head. ‘Love at first sight is a thing.’

‘Yes,’ Kent said. ‘It’s a thing called infatuation.’

‘Love sees all things, accepts all things...’

Kent narrowed his eyes. ‘That’s agape not eros.’

‘What?’ Mike asked.

‘You are misquoting scripture. The Greeks had a number of words which in English are translated as “love.” The passage is talking about agape love which a universal and unconditional love. It is not referring to a romantic or erotic encounter.’

‘Oh,’ Mike said.

‘Why the fuck does an atheist know so much about the Bible?’ Ben asked.

Kent shrugged. ‘The Bible has historically been an extremely influential book. That makes it worth studying.’

Mike poked his cereal. ‘Well, I think you’re wrong about it.’

Kent held up his hands. ‘Suppose you are correct. Love is real and can happen instantly. How does that help anything? It is neither an excuse for poor behaviour nor a reason to suppose that a relationship will succeed. Many of the most notable love stories end in tragedy.’

Sue pursed her lips. ‘So you believe that all romantic relationships are doomed?’

Kent winced. ‘I believe that many of them are plagued by unrealistic expectations. A certain amount of pragmatism is vital. As one grows up one learns to choose between having nothing and have far less than you wanted.’

‘God that’s depressing.’ Mike muttered.

***

Sue looked at the name displayed on her cell. He hadn’t called since she’d left. She hadn’t called him. She sighed as she answered. ‘Yes?’

‘What time will you be back?’

‘Late,’ she said. ‘After seven.’

‘It’s my mother’s birthday.’

Sue shook her head. ‘I told you that I was working.’

‘You’re always working.’

‘I work for the President. My job is extremely important.’

She heard him grind his teeth. In just under a year it had gone from something she barely noticed to completely infuriating.

‘We have a counselling session tomorrow at five,’ he said.

‘I know.’

‘I don’t want end up there alone again, Sue.’

She rolled her eyes. ‘I told you not to book that day.’

***

Sue didn’t have regrets. It was a waste of time and effort. She did, however, get irritated.

She went for a walk while the boys were all flapping about Jonah’s chances. Politics was dull. She couldn’t pretend any interest in it. Jonah was obnoxious. She couldn’t pretend any desire in his success.

She avoided Minna’s lodge and headed in the other direction. It was peaceful all alone with only the birds and the isolation. She would be quite happy to –

‘Sue?’

She turned. ‘Catherine.’

The younger woman jumped through the snowdrifts towards her.

‘It’s okay,’ Catherine said. ‘I mean, I didn’t know you were here, but I knew mom was negotiating with the Chinese. So I guess it makes sense some of you guys would be here.’

‘Oh,’ Sue said.

‘Even though it was supposed to be a family thing,’ Catherine said. ‘I should’ve known when she and Gary kept disappearing for hours on end. But at least I’ve gotten to spend the time with Marjorie. It has been so difficult finding her. Finding the person who really  
understands you is so completely vital; don’t you think?’

‘No,’ Sue said.

‘No?’

‘Being understood is too rare to be essential.’

‘But... aren’t you married now? That’s so exciting! Are you guys crazy happy?’

Sue looked at Catherine, aglow with happiness and youth. Who would crush that optimism?

‘No,’ she said. ‘We are not. We are in couples counselling.’

‘Oh my God!’ Catherine said. ‘But... but you just got married!’

Sue cocked her head. ‘Grabbing the first person you see doesn’t cure crushing loneliness or a broken heart. Don’t imagine that any one person can magically fix your problems.’

‘Marjorie and I aren’t like that,’ Catherine said. ‘We’re so happy.’

‘Of course you’re happy. Everything is easy therefore you are in love.’

Catherine shook her head. ‘No, that’s the wrong way around. See, we’re happy because we’re in love.’

She was so young. So young and so stupid.

‘Try being happy in love when every moment is painful and wrong. When you are miserable to be apart from them and guilty to be with them.’

Catherine hugged herself. ‘I’d never do that to Marjorie.’

‘Then you don’t love her,’ Sue said. ‘Because if you did then you would do anything to be near her. However wrong. However forbidden.’

She left Catherine standing in the snow.

***

Marine One flew overhead, blowing snow against the lodge and making Mike wince at the volume. They were all packing up to leave. Ben had his cell tucked between his ear and shoulder as he talked to his cell. Mike kept stopping to look at pictures of the scans that Wendy had sent through.

‘This feels like a metaphor for work,’ Kent said, heaving Sue's suitcase into the trunk of the car.

‘You and I work while Selina flies away, Ben wanders off, and Mike messes around?’

‘Precisely,’ Kent said.

‘I wonder what part this,’ Sue said.

Minna was crossing over to them.

‘Was that Selina leaving?’ she asked.

‘Sure was,’ Ben said, returning to the conversation. ‘Something up?’

‘Not my tires.’

‘Huh?’

‘My tires,’ she said. ‘On my car. They have all ppft. Deflated.’

Kent folded his arms across his chest. ‘All of them?’

‘Yes! All four. It is so strange. I cannot think how it happened.’

Kent was looking at Sue. She pretended to ignore him.

‘I can imagine how it happened,’ he said. ‘I am unclear as to why.’

Sue raised an eyebrow. ‘Consider it a learning exercise.’

 

 


End file.
